The business behind the show

Fred Rosen said to have stepped down as CEO of Outbox

March 7, 2012 | 8:52
pm

Fred Rosen, the 68-year-old erstwhile head of Ticketmaster, has relinquished his day-to-day duties as co-chief executive of Outbox Enterprises just one year after launching the Los Angeles ticketing firm, said a company executive who worked with Rosen but was not authorized to speak publicly.

The company executive said Rosen stepped down last month because he wanted to work less. He retains an undisclosed equity ownership in Outbox, along with his partners Anschutz Entertainment Group, Cirque du Soleil and Jean-Francoys Brousseau.

Rosen also remains Outbox's vice chairman, according to the executive. Brousseau, who shared the CEO title with Rosen, now runs Outbox solo.

The news was first reported in The Wrap, which suggested Rosen's resignation was a "sign of trouble" at Outbox but did not cite specific problems.

Rosen created Outbox to compete with Ticketmaster, the company he spent much of his career building into an industry powerhouse.

AEG is both a joint owner and a major client of Outbox, using the company's technology to power its AXS ticketing service, which is being rolled out gradually to all of AEG's venues. Prior to switching over to AXS, AEG concerts and sporting events accounted for 15% to 20% of Ticketmaster's business.